The Redemption of Maedhros
by Elwaith
Summary: The Valar give Maedhros a chance at atoning for all he has done. Eru has given Mandos a vision of a vital role Maedhros has to play in the Dagor Dagorath, that he must choose willingly. Uncounted Ages later, Maedhros is reborn as an Atani to a family of hunters...
1. Chapter 1

_When the world is old and the Powers grow weary, then __Morgoth__, seeing that the guard sleepeth, shall come back through the __Door of Night __out of the Timeless Void._

He was leaping headfirst into a chasm that led to the heart of the Earth, a pit full of fire, remembering the wrongs he had done, all the Kinslayings he had taken part in. It was all for nothing, for the Silmarils he had sworn a binding oath to retrieve were beyond his reach forever, just when he thought they lay within his grasp.

I straightened in my seat abruptly with a startled gasp, where I had been researching Pestilence, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. My brother Dean looked up sharply. "What is it?" I shook my head, unable to speak. The vision I just had felt different from visions I had previously. This felt ... personal, as if I had lived it. I decided to tell him of the jumbled images and sensations I had seen and felt, hoping he could help me make sense of it. However, he couldn't make any sense of it. We decided to give Bobby a call.

Uncounted ages ago

Maedhros woke in the Halls of Mandos, stunned, still feeling the terror of falling. More painful was the memory of all the people he had harmed in his futile mission. The full horror of what he had done came back to him. He buried his face in his arms and wept bitterly. But he was not left alone for long. A messenger of Manwe came to him to bring him before the judgment of the Valar. He entered the hall feeling extremely nervous, yet knowing he would submit to whatever the Valar had in store for him. The hall was filled with many elves. Two in particular drew his attention, his friend Fingon and his brother Maglor. He could not meet their eyes and his gaze dropped to the floor. He was soon called to stand within the circle of the Valar, for his fate to be decided.

Maedhros spoke up and declared, "I will submit to any Doom you place on me." Nienna then softly bade Maedhros to look into her eyes. She saw great pain within him, and a tremendous bloodguilt. When she looked deeper, though, she glimpsed unmet potential, and the person he could have been. She looked to Mandos and nodded. "He is suitable." Maedhros looked up at that in surprise.

Mandos saw his confusion and began to speak of the Dagor Dagorath. He revealed a prophecy of the battle to end all battles, thousands of years in the future, when the Great Enemy of the world, Morgoth, would break through the Doors of Night and reenter Arda. Iluvatar had shown him a glimpse of hope. He had seen two Atani who would, against all odds, defy Morgoth and win victory in that dark time. One of the Atani bore Maedhros' visage so he knew he somehow would play a role in that battle. How, he did not know. But Iluvatar had warned him that Maedhros must willingly accept that role.

Maedhros hesitated upon hearing Mandos' prophecy. The Valar, seeing this, granted him time to consider, for it was no small matter that he had to make a decision about. Upon leaving the chamber of judgment, he came upon Fingon and Maglor, also residing in the Halls of Mandos. Fingon said nothing, but embraced him fiercely in joy. Maglor looked at him curiously and asked what the Valar had decided. Maedhros, still considering what the Doomsman had told him, explained about the prophecy Iluvatar had shown, and his potential role.


	2. Chapter 2 The Decision

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the Lord of the Rings and Supernatural universes.

Maedhros was deep in thought all the next day. He decided to go to Fingon and Maglor and seek their counsel. Fingon was uncertain. "This may be the chance of release you sought from your Oath. However, you will have to change your very identity, though your fëa be the same. You will no longer even be one of the Eldar! But if you take this chance, I will ask a boon of the Valar to be the second person they saw." Maglor thought this wise, and spoke his agreement. He did not know if he wanted to play a role in the prophecy Lord Mandos had revealed, yet if he could support his brother and cousin, he could do so without being on the front lines of the battle. Though he was a capable warrior if the time called for it, his nature was more that of a singer and music maker.

Maedhros did not know what to say, so deep was his gratitude. He did not know what his future would be or what trials he would face. But in that moment, knowing Maglor and Fingon would stand with him as they did in life, the heavy weight of uncertainty seemed to lift, just a little. This would be the strength that sustained him in his life as an Atani, though he foresaw it would be harsh.

The Valar granted him his second audience. He stood before them, his uncertainty eased by the two at his side. "This task you have set before me I willingly accept."

Maglor and Fingon then petitioned the Valar for the chance to play a role in Maedhros' life as Atani. The Valar knew that the second person in the vision would also be vital. Knowing Fingon's loyalty proven many times over, they granted him this boon. Maglor, however, was the subject of a more complicated discussion. They discussed his role as accomplice in the Kinslayings. What was also taken into account was his attempt to advise Maedhros against the last attempt at stealing the Silmarils. Though failing to hold firm, the Valar saw in that a potential to play a role as an advisor and helper. They granted Maglor this, after long deliberation.

After Maedhros told the Valar of his acceptance, and Maglor and Fingon informed them of their choice to aid him, they had a more personal errand. Nienna was walking about the Halls, as was her daily custom. Seeing the flash of her distinctive grey pass the corner, Maedhros called to her, his voice carrying all the weight of his years and longing.

"Please, I must see my father and brothers!" The response the Sorrowful One gave was full of understanding. Without a word, she beckoned and continued her winding path through the Halls.

The trio followed gratefully. Fingon, however, was hesitant to open dialogue about happenings that he had up till now kept silent about out of compassion for his friend. Yet he followed despite his misgivings.

**A/N**: Sorry if this is really short, but I figured it would advance the story.


	3. Chapter 3

Bobby picked up the phone after the fourth ring after glancing at the caller ID. "What are you two idjits doing calling at this ungodly hour?" "Bobby" Dean said. "It's Sam's visions again. And," he lowered his voice "I don't know why but I feel that this time there's something different about them." There was a loud curse and a clatter on the other end as something was knocked to the floor by Bobby's jerk of surprise. "What!" Bobby exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought he was no longer having them. How intense was it and what was it about?" Dean silently handed the phone to Sam.

"It felt strange this time, like it was a memory rather than a vision of something happening to someone else. I fell into a stream of lava, or rather, I jumped. Stop looking at me like that, Dean. My hand was burning like I was holding something as hot as the sun, but I couldn't let go, like it had fused to my skin. When I came out of the vision, my hand had a red mark on it that faded after about an hour. And a word that didn't make any sense: something that sounded like Maithross."

"Alright" Bobby said after a pause. "I don't know why you're having this vision now, what with the situation with Lucifer, but it's worth looking into. Why don't you continue your research of the Horsemen at my place, and I can help by looking into some old sources and see if there's anything that sounds like what you described."

Ten hours and an exhausting car ride later, they arrived at Bobby's house. Bobby came out to greet them, gave the usual tests with silver and holy water, and brought them into his kitchen where they sat around the table wearily. The table already had a selection of dusty ancient books piled on top. Dinner went by quickly as they were eager to investigate the strange occurrence.

It was almost midnight and they had not found a single hint of what they were looking for, unusual with their years of experience. Bobby looked over at Sam who looked about to tear his hair out with frustration and smiled gently. "Okay, why don't you boys take a break? Go upstairs and get some rest, or read something other than these texts. They'll still be here in the morning. Sam, I still have that book you loved so much when you were a teenager." Sam was confused. Dean raised an eyebrow at him. "Dude, you don't remember? You were such a Tolkien nerd. You used to love that book called Silma-something, reading it over and over again for something to do every time Dad left for a hunt." "Oh! Right. That one. Sure, thanks Bobby!" He still held a fondness for them, even if the recent events had made him forget. They went upstairs to their rooms yawning. It had been a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

In Bobby's spare bedroom, Sam flopped exhaustedly on the bed, the Silmarillion dangling loosely from his hands. He had too much on his mind to go to sleep readily, with the looming Apocalypse, so he decided to indulge in some light reading to quiet his mind. Ignoring Dean's snoring, he skimmed through the Ainulindale and Valaquenta, to begin the section most interesting to him. Suddenly his eyes fell on a passage that seemed familiar to him.

"But the jewel burned the hand of Maedhros in pain unbearable; and he perceived that it was as Eönwë had said, and that his right thereto had become void, and that the oath was vain. And being in anguish and despair he cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of the Earth"

Sam's eyes widened in shock at this. It seemed too great of a coincidence. Could his vision have been of this event? And the name ... Maedhros sounded to him like it could have been the word lingering in his mind after the vision.

"Dean! Wake up!" Dean was instantly alert, the result of a lifetime of hunting. "Look here at this passage! It totally fits my vision." Dean's first reaction was to laugh. "I know you loved that book, but seriously? It's fiction." "True, but you know the name that was lingering in my mind after the vision – Maithross?" "Uh huh..." "Well, it turns out that's how Maedhros is supposed to be pronounced." Dean was still skeptical. "So you're saying you remember something that happened to a fictional character in a fictional book?" "It's strange, but stranger things have happened to us. Vampires, werewolves, they're real. What if Tolkien somehow caught a glimpse of the truth and wrote it into his stories? What if elves and dwarves really existed?"

A heavy silence fell. Dean couldn't really argue with that logic, not when he saw evidence of the supernatural every day. Still, it was a lot to digest. "Suppose your theory is true. Why do you think you had this vision all of a sudden when we're supposed to defeat Lucifer? Your visions have always had great relevance to current happenings." An uncertain look flashed across Sam's face. "I have no idea." But Dean's question had sparked a train of thought. Sam, being the huge Tolkien nerd, recalled the prophecy of the Dagor Dagorath, in which the Great Enemy would break the Doors of Night and reenter Arda. This seemed eerily similar to Lucifer breaking the 66 Seals and wreaking havoc on Earth.

Sam and Dean decided to tell Bobby of this in the morning. Sleep was slow to arrive, but eventually their breathing evened out. Dean was in a dream by a lake. Storm clouds were gathering overhead. He blinked. Castiel stood before him on the pier where he had not been there a second before. This was not as surprising as it had been the first time, however. "Hey, what's up?" Castiel looked upwards in confusion. Dean sighed. "Never mind. Are you here to tell me something?" "I know what is on your mind. Yes, it is true. I must awaken a long buried memory." Castiel touched Dean on the forehead.

At once he was somewhere else. He was standing beneath an unnaturally darkened sky in the midst of a crowd. Eight figures were in the center, lit by torchlight. They were chanting something dreadful. A sense of Doom, of an infinite Someone listening, came over him as the chant concluded.

He was crossing what looked and felt as cold as the middle of the Arctic, at the forefront of a massive group of people, for some reason feeling incredible betrayal at the sight of a burning glow on the horizon.

He stood on a narrow ledge on a mountaintop above the clouds. Indescribably foul vapors rose from the fortress below him. Next to him was an emaciated figure chained to the rock by his right wrist.

He was battling some kind of monster he had never seen before, wreathed in flames and shadow. A blow came down hard on his helm, and he knew no more.


	5. Chapter 5

When Dean woke the next morning, the sky was still dark. "Damn it, I forgot to ask Castiel what those last images were," he thought. He looked over at Sam. "I wonder what he makes of all this." He yawned and headed downstairs. Surprisingly, Bobby was already up and at the table piled with books. "You ready to do some more work on these texts?" Dean looked at the table and groaned internally. "Actually, about that, last night Sam was reading the Silmarillion. I'll let him explain when he comes back downstairs."

At that moment Sam walked in, looking extremely rumpled, like he had been tossing and turning the whole night. "Speak of the devil!" Sam grimaced automatically. "Sorry, I forgot. Anyway, you can explain that crazy theory you had last night to Bobby much better than I can." Sam took a deep breath and began explaining. "I was reading the Silmarillion that you gave me when I came across a certain passage..."

When Sam was done, Bobby had an extremely skeptical look, understandably. Before he could speak, Castiel appeared in the room. "I must tell you of an extremely urgent matter. Heaven is aware of your realization and will do anything in their considerable power to prevent you from reclaiming your past selves. The people you used to be were extremely strong willed, hardly conducive to their plans for you." Sam thought about this. "Maybe we can use this to our advantage. I agree to Lucifer after we get all four Horsemen's rings. Then you make a portal into the Cage where Lucifer is supposed to be, and Lucifer will no doubt want to remove the Michael Sword, you, from the picture. Before he does so, I gain control back and go through the portal."

He didn't say that he had gotten the idea from his memory of Maedhros leaping into the chasm.

As he expected, Dean and Bobby began protesting vociferously against his idea. "Are you nuts?" "That will mean you are stuck in the Cage too!" Castiel, though, was silent. "No. I released Lucifer and I will put him back in his Cage no matter the cost to me. I will do this no matter your objections." In that moment he greatly resembled Maedhros in spirit, the Maedhros who had stood against his father and brothers torching the Telerin ships, the Maedhros who had stood with Maglor alone against the host of the Valar in pursuit of his Oath, however regrettable.

The matter was thus decided. But Dean Swore to himself, silently, that he would get Sam out of the Cage, without Lucifer.

After the final ring was obtained from Death, a few days later, the mood at Bobby's house was extremely subdued. They all knew what had to be done. The four rings rested on the table, looking extremely small and harmless for objects that could open a portal to Hell. Bobby, Dean and Castiel would set them up. Sam knew that he would have to call Lucifer. No goodbyes were said. They would have been too small for all that was meant. He drove away.

In an abandoned building, Sam was ready. "Lucifer! I call you here. I say yes to you."


	6. Chapter 6

Lucifer's possession came as swift and overwhelming as Ungoliant's invasion of Valinor millennia ago. Sam felt a shocked recognition, then deep malice coming from him. "Ah, so you call yourself Sam now. But I remember you... Maedhros Fëanorion. You will not escape me so easily. There is no Fingon to come help you this time. But let it not be said that I do not pay my debts. Always your deeds have aided me, unwitting or no. Your reward will be to watch as I rule."

Sam did his best to hide his disgust, shame and (he would not admit it even to himself) doubt. It would not help matters. He knew the final battle would begin very soon and he did not know if he would have the strength necessary to wrest control back.

The hours passed with endless tiresome gloating from Lucifer about how he would defeat the Valar as well as mankind, but finally the time came. Lucifer teleported to a field in Kansas where he knew Michael was. Sam watched as Michael and Lucifer talked. He watched the Impala pull up and Dean, Cas and Bobby step out. He watched as Cas banished Michael with the Molotov of holy oil.

But when Lucifer turned to his Team Free Will, as they had affectionately named themselves, he could not just watch. His struggles grew louder and stronger as Castiel and Bobby were killed. And when Lucifer attacked his brother, memories of all their times together in both lives ran together until they became a continuous stream. He could not allow this to happen. He opened his eyes and they were his own again, soft instead of burning. He looked at Dean for the last time.

The portal to the Cage opened. Michael appeared and tried to stop him. But before he could, Sam let himself fall. Michael grabbed him desperately but all he did was drag himself down as well. A flash. The portal closed as if it had never existed.

Dean will not speak of these events, so I* do so. What happened in the aftermath? No one but One knows why Castiel and Bobby were sent back to life, but they were. Castiel went back to Heaven to sort out the chaos. Bobby kept hunting. That was the life he knew.

And Dean? Dean had promised Sam that he would live a normal life and not spend his life in the search for ways to bring him back. He knocked on Lisa's door. Nothing was said. She took one look at his face and let him enter.

THE END

*Author's note: The bottom part of the chapter is narrated by Chuck Shurley.


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